Poetics
by ZeroPanda
Summary: Trying to find innocence inside a magic school wasn't Allen's idea of a good time. Throw in his new apprentice, Kanda, and many others, and it becomes ten times harder. Yullen!
1. Prologue

What's up! This is the rewrite guys. Lots of stuff stayed the same, and lots of stuff was deleted and rewritten. This is kind of my baby, so please treat it gently!

Some facts about this story you'll need to know:

-Unlike some of my other stories, this is an **established** slash/shounen-ai. There _most likely_ won't be any mature scenes beyond.. just general stuff.

-Allen is a General, and I've bent the timeline to my liking. In order to save myself the hassle of being refuted by the manga later, a lot of in-between things will just be glazed over if they're mentioned at all.

-There is one OC. You'll learn all about him later, but he's mostly here because I wanted Allen to have an apprentice. I'll try and make him as likeable as possible. He'll get a decent amount of screen-time but the story is still about Allen.

-Pairings have always been up for debate, but there is definitely going to be developing Yullen.

-Takes place in the third HP book because it's the only one I have with me here at school.

That's it!  
>I don't own or claim to own D Gray Man or Harry Potter (or anything that sounds like it may have come from something). I wouldn't be as poor as I am if I did.<p>

**In a minute there is time**

**For decisions and revisions which a minute will reverse**

-T.S. Eliot; _The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock_

Panting, lungs burning, heart pumping. He ran faster, harder than he had ever had to. Why was everyone chasing him? He didn't do anything wrong this time. He kept running. If he let himself be captured, _they _would be upset with him. They would hunt him for desertion. They'd probably kill him. He kept running.

A flash of purple appeared in front of him and exploded when it hit the ground. He stopped running just in time. A large, round machine hovered in front of him, canon-like devices covering its body were all aimed at him. He cringed. Never had he been in such a situation. He'd killed these ugly things before, whenever they appeared they always seemed to target him, though he didn't understand why. Never had he been trapped like this before, though. Two people were chasing him; one spoke to him politely, reminiscent to the way a butler might speak to his master, and the other had a cool, silky voice, threaded with danger but still sounding gentlemanly all the same. He trusted neither. The fact of the matter was, they both wanted him, and he couldn't allow them to take him.

And now, this demon creature was blocking his way. If he took the time to kill it, his pursuers would catch him. If he didn't, the thing would follow him and continue trying to kill him, and he would probably be caught anyways. A lose-lose situation.

The crunching of leaves alerted him to the approaching enemies. Two flashes of white appeared on either side of him. To his left, a score of bright white diamonds materialized seemingly from nowhere. To his right, strings or bandages of some sort had shot through the demon-machine and it promptly exploded. The bandage-like materials retracted and returned to their owner, a boy dressed in black, with a white hooded cloak-type thing attached at the back. He ran quickly at the previously escaping boy, taking him into the folds of his cloak, and pulled him in to the diamonds.

The boy just barely caught the golden eyed gaze of his second pursuer as a door of some sort closed behind them.

He had been captured.


	2. Chapter One

**Chapter One.**

Disclaimer: I don't own DGM or Harry Potter! I only own Masa.

**The art of losing isn't hard to master;**

**so many things seem filled with the intent**

**to be lost that their loss is no disaster.**

-Elizabeth Bishop, _One Art_.

"My name is Hara Ma—Masahiko Hara," the long-haired boy stated, staring at his new 'master' as they called it here at this weird organization. It had taken many weeks to get him to cooperate, spewing nonsensical words about _them _coming to take him back.

"It's nice to meet you Masahiko," the white haired boy in front of him responded politely. Allen Walker was the youngest General in the Order, and this was going to be the first apprentice he ever took on. He'd found the strange boy in a town when he was searching the area for innocence. The fact that he had found an accommodator, and a parasitic type at that, had been pure coincidence.

"Please, call me Masa," the other said, squaring his shoulders and standing taller. He was a good head shorter than the white haired General, which he found irritating as he was actually a year older than Allen.

"Of course. Komui wanted me to show you to your new room. Now that you've accepted the Order, I think you'll find that you really like it here. This place is very welcoming, and the staff will love you. These people are like family to me," Allen explained as he began walking down the hall. He inspected the smaller form that followed him. The boy was odd, that much he knew. He had long hair that Allen could compare only to Kanda's, only it was much thicker. The color was odd as well, though the white haired exorcist couldn't exactly talk. It was an interesting mix of black and white, seemingly random with no pattern so Allen knew he hadn't done anything to his hair on purpose. At the moment, it fell messily down to his just below his waist – unbrushed and seemingly untamable – but when he first saw him, it was pulled into a high ponytail, his bangs falling around his face and swept to the side over his forehead. Soft brown eyes glanced around, taking in their surroundings and memorizing each turn and staircase they walked.

He looked much younger than he actually was. When he first saw the boy, he thought he was twelve or thirteen at the most, but he was surprised to find out he was actually sixteen, a year older than himself. His voice didn't make it any easier – soft and light, very much like a child's.

Behind the new exorcist, Link trotted rather silently. He was moody because Allen had left without him, and making unauthorized use of the Ark to do so. Allen had only been let off the hook since he had been trying to escape the Noah, Tyki, with a new accommodator. Allen didn't understand why Tyki had been after the boy as well – were they still trying to destroy the innocence inside accommodators? – but it bothered him that he had been there to chase after the fleeing long-haired parasitic type as well.

"You'll probably have to see Hevlaska tomorrow, and I bet you'll get your welcome party at dinner tomorrow as well. Jerry is the finest cook to ever grace this earth," Allen continued, watching Masa's face for a reaction. There was none, and soon they arrived at his new room. "This is it. You can unpack your things and make yourself at home. I can show you to the kitchen if you want, I got so lost for the longest time when I first got here." Masa's expression quickly morphed into one of irritation as he grabbed the knob to his new door.

"What stuff?" he asked bitterly, throwing the door open and stomping inside before promptly slamming it closed behind him.

"Well, this might be a little more difficult than I thought. Don't suppose I could blame him for being a little bitter, though," Allen spoke, mostly to himself. Link simply _hmph'd _and the two were on their way to their next destination.

A knock at Allen's door woke him up that early morning, and he just barely managed to pull himself out of the bed to answer it. Looking much akin to a monster, with his hair messed up and eyes still harboring that sunken just-woke-up look to them, he opened the door to find Lenalee standing there, looking far more awake than he. Her hair was growing back, down to her shoulders now, and her eyes were bright with happiness. After everything that had been happening in the Order in the past few months, she was just glad that all her friends were still there. Especially Kanda. She had been afraid he was gone for good.

"Hello, Lenalee," Allen greeted with a hardly concealed yawn.

"Hello, Allen!" she reciprocated, though far more enthusiastically. "Brother wanted me to tell you that he needs to see you. Something about a mission, I suppose. You should have enough time to get ready and grab some breakfast first, though." Allen nodded, happy to hear that he would be able to get some sustenance before facing the ridiculousness that was Komui Lee, so he said his farewells to Lenalee and closed the door, getting ready for the day.

In the cafeteria, he was met with the odd sight of Kanda – he wasn't so surprised that the dark haired samurai was an early bird – and Masa, sitting together and eating quietly. Allen still couldn't get used to the idea that Kanda could stand the presence of anyone, but he and Masa had hit it off quite quickly… if you could consider their completely silent relationship "hitting it off" that is. Allen put it to their mutual Japanese background, and the fact that Masa didn't like to talk a lot. Allen usually could find them meditating in the training room together. Sometimes he wondered why Komui had placed Masa as his apprentice when he seemed to get along to much better with Kanda. Masa seemed to ignore him completely most days, unless they were sent on a mission.

Masa's innocence was an interesting one. He hadn't gotten to see what it really was until their second mission together. Masa had two red bands that encircled his wrists. At first glance, Allen would have thought them to be tattoos, but soon dismissed this idea when the light reflected off them and proved to be rather solid. This was how Masa's innocence could materialize. His innocence was actually the very blood in his veins. When Allen first saw it activated, he marveled at the way the red liquid slowly seeped through the bands and covered his hands, all the way up his fingers and covering just beyond the nail, sharpening to a fine point that seared right through the akuma they were fighting.

When Allen asked where his innocence was at, Masa explained that most of it could be found in his heart, whereas the rest scattered into small dust-sized particles and spread through the entirety of his blood. Further questioning of this told Allen that Masa could _feel _the innocence inside himself. How else could he control his own blood, Masa had said.

Allen contemplated sitting with the two quiet Japanese men, but decided against it as he sat his mountain of food down on the table not too far away from them. He concluded that while Masa might not mind his presence, Kanda wouldn't appreciate it as much.

Allen somehow managed to finish his food just as Kanda and Masa had. Standing, he approached the two, earning a glare from one, and an impassive look from the other.

"Good morning, Masa," Allen greeted. The boy nodded in return, and Allen took this as a good sign.

Kanda looked like he was going to say something, so Allen quickly continued. "I was just headed to see Komui about a mission. Would you like to come along?" Masa's brown eyes quickly glanced towards Kanda and back to Allen, before giving his General a swift nod. Allen smiled brightly and led the way without another word.

Upon entering the office, Masa looked a little shocked. He had seen the room in various states, but never had he seen so many papers littering the… everything. Moments passed as the two exorcists stood in the doorway. Normally, Allen would have just walked over the papers and swept them off the couch, but here, he couldn't even tell if Komui was even in the room.

"Uh.. Komui?" he called out hesitantly. There was a muffled sound coming from the desk, and slight movement, but Allen couldn't tell if that was man he was looking for or just some other poor unfortunate soul caught beneath pounds of papers. Allen wouldn't be surprised if the papers had actually come alive, either, so he didn't discount the idea.

"Supervisor?" Masa decided to call as well, his voice loud enough to be heard, but still soft and innocent sounding. There was another moment of silence before the mountain of papers shuddered and then exploded, thrown up into the air and all around them. A loud gasp of breath met their ears as Supervisor Komui Lee finally managed to break free of the man-eating paperwork.

He met their eyes after a few moments of heavy breathing, and then his face broke into a smile.

"Hello there! Just the persons I was looking for. I have a mission for you two."

* * *

><p><strong><em>Ahem. So, I have no pairings set in stone.. please review or send a message as to what you'd like me to do keeping in mind the ones I mentioned in the prologue.. cuz those were the ones I was really aiming for, but I'm fairly flexible. ALSO. PLEASE go take my poll, its really important for the story~ its about the houses they'll all be sorted into. I'm at a halt right now because I have no idea where they should go, or where you'd most like to see them. <em>**

**_I feel like I'm forgetting something important.. but oh well. _**


	3. Chapter Two

**Chapter Two. **

_**Disclaimer: **_Insert witty disclaimer here.

Thank you sooo much to **Acedia's Apathetic Simplicity** and **MissJessi-Pon **for reviewing. I'm a little disappointed that only one of you has voted on the poll, so please go and do so or that one single person is going to have their way (not that I would mind).

**The apparition of these faces in the crowd;**

**Petals on a wet, black bough.**

-Ezra Pound, _In a Station of the Metro_

Allen's eye was twitching. At the moment, he sincerely wished it was because there was an akuma around, but he couldn't even blame it on that. He was just lost… as usual.

"Who ever heard of a platform that wasn't even a whole number!" he said, throwing his hands up in the air in defeat, his calm façade nearly completely wiped away. Masa stood beside him in silent irritation. He caught the train ticket as it floated back down to earth after Allen threw it.

"Platform 9 ¾ …" he muttered to himself, "Makes absolutely no sense." Allen grunted at the agreement, glaring at the wall between platforms 9 and 10.

"And why is it ¾? Why can't it be ¼ or ½? Wouldn't 9 ½ be better?" Allen was rambling now, some sort of coping mechanism, Masa assumed. He was stressed. Allen had managed to get them lost several times on the way to the first train, and Masa had to find their way back every time. Now, they couldn't even find the platform they needed, _standing right inside the station. _

"I already dislike this school," Masa said, turning in a quick circle to survey their surroundings.

"At this rate, we'll miss the train." Allen rubbed his temples with his gloved hands. Masa was a little surprised that no one seemed to stare at their obviously out of place uniforms. Both boys had their hoods over their heads, hiding the odd hair they both sported.

"Maybe the stick is supposed to do something," Masa suggested, earning a blank stare from Allen as he remembered their trip to the village called Diagon Alley.

.

.

.

"_Robes, books, quills and parchment, cauldrons, a wand? What is all this for?" Allen asked as they walked. The long haired boy beside him raised an eyebrow, as if to ask why Allen was asking _him. _Allen returned the look sheepishly, and decided to lead the way into the robe shop first. Upon seeing the silly things actually on them, they had to be held back from running right out the store. The owner, Madam Malkin, insisted that they would have to have them for school. _

_After they, quite unwillingly, took the robes and paid for them – they had paid a trip to the Wizard bank Gringott's to exchange money – they went on their way, getting a cauldron that held all the books they had to buy, choosing to share sets instead of buying two and wasting the money. They also had to buy sets for their companions that would be joining them. Masa was quick to convince Allen that throwing the books into the Ark for the others to find would be a great idea. _

_After all of the basic shopping had been done, they dragged their cauldrons full of stuff into the wand shop, where they spent nearly the rest of the day destroying the place and having wands snatched away from them. _

_After hours of attempts, Allen left with an 11" birch with phoenix tail feather core, and Masa with a 10 ¼" hawthorn with Dragon Heartstring core. Neither seemed to hold the wooden devices in a high esteem, and stashed them away within their coats nearly as soon as they had gotten them. _

_They briefly entertained the idea of getting an owl, but with Timcampy and the Ark, they decided against it. The Order wasn't giving them much money for shopping, and neither wanted to waste those funds – especially Allen, who shuddered at the thought of his days with his Master. _

_The rest of the day was spent exploring, and then sleeping in the Leaky Cauldron. _

_._

_._

_._

"Could they expect children to know how to get on a non-existent platform using magic they haven't learned yet?" Allen asked his apprentice. Masa looked about to respond, a small blush dusting his cheeks, when the loud bickering of what had to be a mother and her child caught their attention. The boy pushed a large trolley in front of him, luggage piled on top of it and finished with an owl in a cage on the top.

"Oh, just run through the barrier, Jason. I'm not getting you that broom!" she said, pushing at his back to encourage him forward. The two exorcists shared a look as they watched the boy grudgingly run through the wall between the platforms of 9 and 10. Allen's surprise when the boy disappeared was minimal, having been exposed to the mysteries of innocence for so long seemed to make him immune to odd occurrences. Masa, however, was barely able to contain his interest as his eyebrows shot up beyond his bangs as the mother ran through the wall as well.

"You think there's some sort of trick?" he asked, approaching the strange wall, letting his luggage sit off to the side. The longer haired boy inspected it impassively, pulling up just behind Allen.

"Why don't you try it?" Masa asked, his voice monotone and sounding uncaring. It was after this that he rested a hand on his General's back, pushing him just hard enough to make him stumble forward and then –

He fell straight through the wall. Brown eyes shifted back and forth, from the wall to the people passing, and as he realized that his General wasn't coming back, he pushed Allen's (and his as well, he supposed) trolley towards the wall, and had to force himself not to stop as he stepped through the barrier that was the very solid looking wall.

"Ow!" Allen's voice rang out loudly as Masa felt the trolley collide with something… or rather, someone.

"Sorry, General," he said, automatically going to help the white haired boy up.

"I told you to call me Allen," he protested, accepting the hand that the smaller boy was offering. Masa ignored his words as the other brushed himself off. Looking around, he realized how glad he was they had left so early. With Allen's track record at getting lost, something Masa had learned quite soon after he became the boy's apprentice that he was directionally challenged… often. The platform was bustling with activity, and there were only about ten minutes before the train would be leaving.

The two exorcists hurried onto the red steam engine, travelling almost the entire length of the train looking for a relatively empty compartment.

"Let's just use this one," Allen finally said, seeing the lone older man sitting in the corner. He looked like he was about to pass out, so they would have some sort of privacy if the man actually did. Masa nodded as Allen opened the sliding door.

"Hello, do you mind if we join you?" Allen asked quietly so as to not startle the man. The compartment's only occupant opened his eyes just wide enough to take in the figures of the two exorcists before sitting bolt upright.

"Of course!" he said, motioning to the seat in front of him. Allen gave a quick bow before the two sat, looking wary of the man who seemed suddenly rather enthusiastic to their presence. As the door slid closed behind them, the man began speaking again. "You are the exorcists Dumbledore told me about, am I right?" he asked, looking at the rose crosses on their uniforms. Allen's golden trimmed jacket stood out rather much next to Masa's normal silver trimmed one. The smaller boy's was fashioned like a trench coat, thin and fitting but loose enough for him to store things on the inside without them being seen, something he insisted upon when Komui was ordering the thing.

Allen's was almost exactly like his old one, only now it was the fancy golden General's version. He always felt a little odd in it, considering he still didn't feel like a General, and the only ones who even called him one were the higher ups and Masa, who didn't seem to listen to him whenever he protested.

"Yeah," Allen answered the man, holding out a hand. "My name is Allen Walker and this is –"

"Masahiko Hara," Masa introduced for himself as Allen took the man's hand.

"I am Remus Lupin, I'm going to be the new Defense against the Dark Arts professor," he explained. The two nodded, taking in the information for later. "I hope you don't mind if I take a nap," he added, "it's been a long day."

"Of course, please do," Allen answered, giving the Professor a smile. Lupin smiled back and got himself comfortable against the window once more. A few minutes passed in silence after that as Masa and Allen waited for the man to fall asleep before speaking.

His breathing evened and Allen turned his body towards Masa. "I have a question," he said, and waited for Masa's response. It came in the form of a head nod, and Allen continued, "When you were being held by the Order, what made you decide to comply?" It was a question that had been bugging Allen. From the very moment Allen saw Masa, he had been running away. And then all of a sudden, while he was locked away, he decided to give in and become an exorcist. Masa never spoke about it. He never said anything about family, friends, or anything. The only people he ever heard Masa talk about was the mysterious _them. _Allen wasn't sure who _they _were, but he seemed to be quite affected by them.

"Lenalee," was the long haired boy's simple answer. Allen raised an eyebrow in a questioning gesture. He knew that Lenalee and Masa didn't normally interact. Not because Lenalee didn't want to, but more because Masa hid from her. He truly went out of his way to avoid Lenalee, and that was another thing that Allen was curious about.

"What about Lenalee?" he prodded, trying to get Masa to explain himself. He let out a sigh, knowing that Allen wouldn't give up on the subject.

"Lenalee came to visit me once a day. She told me stuff about herself," he answered. Allen understood that part. Lenalee probably told him all about how she was confined too. "She thought it would make me feel better, but I don't think she realized that I was not resisting because of any familial ties," he explained further.

"Why did you resist then?"

"I had to go back to _them_," he said. "If I didn't get back, _they _would come looking. I decided after everything Lenalee told me that cooperating would be the best course of action. If I was able to get more freedom, I might be able to get back to _them_. Imagine my surprise when they gave me you as a General, and I had to be toted around with you to learn how to use my innocence." Allen wasn't sure whether to be surprised or offended. He chose neither, and motioned for him to continue.

"You want to know who _they_ are, and what I was doing when you captured me," he stated. Allen nodded, knowing it really wasn't a question. "I can't tell you that, but I will tell you that they won't give up on me. They'll track me down, so you should be prepared for it." Allen wanted to ask more, but they were interrupted when the compartment door slid open.

"-the only one, guys," the two caught the tail end of the sentence, and were soon met with the faces of three young teens. The one that spoke was a messy haired boy with emerald green eyes, hidden by glasses Allen could only compare to Johnny's, though slightly less ridiculous. The two behind the boy, his friends, consisted of a bushy haired brunette girl, and a boy with the brightest red hair he'd ever seen – next to Lavi's, that is.

"Hello," Allen greeted politely, waving a hand gently. Masa turned away from them, his eyes hidden by the hood both he and Allen had kept on their heads.

"Do you mind if we sit here?" the boy asked. Allen figured he was their leader of sorts, as he was the only one to speak and he stood in the front, the other two simply following.

"Certainly, if you don't mind a tight fit," the General answered, motioning towards the ragged Professor. The three spread themselves out, Hermione taking the initiative to sit next to Masa – a brave gesture, seeing as he didn't seem to be in the mood to entertain – while Ron sat himself next to Lupin, and Harry next to Ron.

The Golden Trio sat awkwardly, as if there was something they wanted to say, but not in the presence of the strangers they were now accompanying.

"I've never seen you around before, are you new? Those are quite interesting uniforms you have," Hermione started, ever the curious one.

"We're transferring in," Allen explained, ignoring the latter half of her sentence.

"My name is Hermione Granger," she introduced, and then turned to her companions, "And this is Ron Weasley and… Harry Potter," she continued, hesitating on the raven haired boy. Allen didn't comment, and instead moved to introduce himself in return.

"My name is Allen Walker, and this is Masahiko Hara. I believe the Headmaster said we'd be joining in the third year?"

"You're transfers? I've never heard of such a thing. We're in the third year too, I hope you get into Gryffindor," she said. Allen blinked.

"What is a Gryffindor?" Hermione looked appalled that she hadn't thought about them being transfers and therefore not knowing the house system, so she began telling them all about it as the train pulled itself away from the station.

"I see. I hope you don't mind if Masa and I excuse ourselves from conversation for a while, we have some private things to speak about with each other," Allen said politely. The three looked a little shocked that the strangers were the ones to excuse themselves first. Harry had been thinking of ways to get private time with his friends as well, in order to tell them all about what Mr. Weasley had said to him about Sirius Black.

"Of course! We actually were going to request the same thing," Hermione answered for them. She seemed the far more talkative one when it came to the two exorcists, probably because of her natural curiosity to know and understand things.

Allen smiled and turned himself away so that Masa would have to scoot himself in closer to speak with him. He did so reluctantly, moving himself away from Hermione as Allen began speaking to him in a hushed tone, after the other three had begun their own discussion.

"Remember what Dumbledore said. Don't let the Potter boy know anything about the latter half of our mission," he muttered.

.

.

.

"_You want us to go to school?" the white haired General asked, blinking his eyes in confusion. _

"_That's right. We have reason to believe there is innocence there, but it's going to be particularly difficult to find since the school is actually a magic one. Strange things happen there all the time, as a norm, so you're going to have to go there for the full term and keep your eyes peeled for anything… not normal to the wizarding standard," Komui explained. Neither Masa nor Allen knew what to say to this. It wasn't like any mission they had been sent on before. _

"_We were able to come to an agreement with the headmaster. While you are there, you are to protect the boy called Harry Potter, as he is being targeted by a mass murderer that recently escaped their wizard prison…"_

"_When you get there, you are ordered to find a place to open the Ark before the opening ceremony begins to allow Kanda, Lenalee, and apparently Lavi to join you."_

"They actually want me to open the Ark?" Allen asked. Last time he had, he had been chewed out rather harshly, though he wasn't punished since he had done it in order to bring back Masa.

"_That's right. They want a bridge to your location in case of emergency," Komui answered. _

"_You mean they want it there so they can come directly to me if there is ever a problem. I can't leave the door open all the time, the wizards would notice a white structure with numbers on it in the courtyard." _

"_You don't need to leave it, just have the connection open, and that should work," Komui replied. Allen nodded with a sigh._

_._

_._

_._

"Yeah, yeah. I didn't plan on talking to him, anyways," Masa said, showing off the influence Kanda had on him during his time at the Order.

"I wonder how Lavi got himself into this mission, and how Lenalee convinced her brother to let her leave for a year," Allen asked, but there wasn't room for answer. A faint whistling noise cut off any further discussion between the two as they began looking around for the source.

"What is that?" Ron finally asked. The fivesome all quieted to listen for the strange noise. Ron stood and began digging through the luggage, pulling out a shiny… thing. Allen and Masa weren't quite sure _what _it was, exactly.

"Is that a Sneakoscope?" Hermione questioned, inspecting the thing.

"What do they do?" Allen asked interestedly, looking at the foreign object.

"They're supposed light up and spin whenever someone untrustworthy is around," Hermione answered.

"But I think it's just a cheap one. It kept lighting up when I was trying to send it to Harry for his birthday," Ron added quickly. Hermione looked at him, one eyebrow raised.

"Were you doing something untrustworthy when you sent it?" she asked.

"No!" Ron replied, looking guilty. "Well.. I wasn't supposed to be using Errol. He doesn't do well with long journeys." Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Put it away, it might wake him up," Harry said, gesturing towards the sleeping Professor. Ron complied, and things went relatively back to normal.

"Why do you s'pose it lit up?" Ron asked after a moment of silence. Masa shifted his body, and looked out the window, ignoring their conversation. Allen raised an eyebrow at this, but he suspected the sneakoscope went off because he and the other exorcist had been discussing about hiding things from the owner. He shrugged it off as the trio began speaking of some town called Hogsmeade.

Rain began to slam against the roof of the train, and the two exorcists watched as large drops fell down all around them. The world was wet and gray, a gloomy atmosphere. Never a good sign, in Allen's book. And then it happened.

"Your eye is twitching, General," Masa whispered, seeing the obvious tick on Allen's face.

"I noticed," he said, rubbing the offending eye. It felt like it desperately wanted to activate, but the lack of akuma nearby wouldn't allow it to. "Stay alert, something's not right. I can feel it approaching." Masa nodded, having been thinking the same thing. As the words left his mouth, the train began slowing to a stop.

"We can't be there yet," they heard Hermione say. The train halted roughly, jolting everyone in their seats as the lights all flickered off at the same time. Allen looked out the window, barely able to see the movements of something just outside.

"Something's boarding," Masa said. Allen glanced at him just in time to see his eyes turn from red back to their normal soft brown.

"Some_thing?_" Hermione asked, ready to interrogate him. Meanwhile, Harry moved to open the door but it was opened for him, as a body stumbled inside.

"Ow!" Harry said as he was pushed back into his seat.

"I'm sorry!" was the timid reply of another boy.

"Neville?" Hermione asked, and the door opened once more. The voice of a girl cut through the silence this time, squealing as she tripped also, landing roughly on Hermione and Masa.

"Off!" Masa yelled immediately, not enjoying this contact. At the same time, Hermione called out to the girl. "Ginny? What are you doing here?" The newest girl replied, saying something about finding Ron, before things just began getting out of hand. Feet were trampled, bodies squished, and there was fumbling for seats. Shouts went off left and right and Masa was ready to throw everyone out the window when a voice interrupted his thoughts.

"_Quiet,_" Lupin's voice rang out. Everyone stopped moving and settled as the man lit his wand, illuminating his haggard face and just enough of the small compartment for everyone to see. There was an eerie silence as something seemed to rattle just outside their compartment, and not a moment later the door was being slid open once again.

Allen grabbed his eye. It wanted to activate so badly that the irritation had turned into sheer pain, and he began feeling ill. The figure in the doorway could only be described as a large shadowy cloak. It didn't seem to have any sort of human figure, and Allen wanted to puke at how twistedly similar it looked to the souls of the dead, mangled inside the akuma shell. Bony hands began reaching out, a sucking sound filled the air, and Allen clutched at his head. Terrible memories and thoughts filled his mind, ripping away any happiness he had ever felt. He wanted to bash his head through the window in agony.

Meanwhile, Harry, who was receiving the brunt of the attack, had passed out. The compartment exploded in fear, his friends catching him and holding him up.

"General?" Masa yelled out, uncaring if the others heard. They were all too busy with their own to care about Allen as he fell against the wall, holding his head in his hands. Masa placed his hands on Allen's head, pushing the hood away and pulling him closer. He wasn't sure what would help, other than getting rid of the creature.

Lupin, however, was already on that. He muttered some word that Masa was unconcerned with, and a bright white light filled the small room. The creature made a terrible screeching sound, and then it was gone. Allen fell limply into Masa's arms, though still conscious. He took deep breaths, stabilizing his trembling body.

"General Walker?" Masa whispered softly, holding onto the taller boy awkwardly. He wasn't good at comforting others, so he wasn't sure what to do.

"I told you to call me Allen," the other replied weakly, though his defiance was still clear in his tone. Masa chuckled. How like Allen.

Harry was just getting back on his feet as well, and everyone swarmed around him in worry. He was babbling something about screaming, but no one seemed to know what he was talking about. Lupin handed out chocolate to all the inhabitants who were particularly shaken by the event – Harry and Allen – explaining the effects of the _dementor_, and then left, on a trip to see the train's conductor.

"I don't think I like this train," Allen said, breaking the awkward silence that had consumed them, earning an uneasy chuckle from the others.

* * *

><p><strong><em>While editing this, I couldn't stop thinking of Baccano. Oh goodness, it's my newest obsession.<em>**

**_Now go vote on the poll. Else I can't update for a while.._**


	4. Chapter Three

**Chapter Three. **

_**Disclaimer**_: From here on, let it be known that I own none of the recognizable characters, settings, etc. that appear in this story, and I do not and will not ever claim to. Let this apply to all of the chapters before this one and all of those to come.

Kayton isn't staying, so don't worry about her presence.

**"It is very good of Lord St. Simon to honour my head by putting it on a level with his own."**

**-**_Sherlock Holmes._

In all the excitement, Allen and Masa were able to steal away off to themselves. After passing the gates, they veered off the path that the carriages stood on that would take them to the castle. They walked a way into the eerily silent woods, not particularly worried about any kind of attack, but ready even if there were. They didn't stop until they felt they were far enough away, but not too far so they could rush back before all the carriages were gone.

Allen made quick work in summoning the Ark, and soon the large white entrance materialized. He opened the door and stepped inside, motioning for Masa to wait as he went to fetch their comrades.

The forest was quiet. An occasional hoot had Masa glancing around him for any unwelcome company, but not a thing stirred in the dark woods. For a few moments, Masa even had to wonder if anything lived in that forest when a rustling caught his attention. His brown eyes flickered over to the bush that caused the disturbance, and a black four-legged creature emerged beyond the dark green leaves. It looked hesitant; something Masa didn't overlook as the _dog_ crept itself into the clearing that harbored the Ark's door.

It stared at the white structure, confusion written clear across its face. Masa approached it warily, curious as to why a large dog looked so… human. Was it a wizard thing? The dog snapped its head to Masa as he got closer, and took on a defensive stance. The exorcist stopped himself, not wanting to startle the dog into attacking – not that he would have had a problem defending himself against such a small creature. He'd dealt with worse and more dangerous things, both with Allen and with _them. _

He kneeled, holding a hand out to the feral looking animal in a peace offering. If Masa hadn't known better, he could have sworn the dog lifted a furry eyebrow in amusement, approaching the boy's hand with less caution than before. The dark snout of the creature touched the boy's hand, wet nose causing an involuntary shiver to run down his spine. The dog barked playfully, as if trying to startle the boy, and then licked his hand when Masa hadn't jumped in fear. It barked once more, sounding eerily similar to laughter. Masa shook his head. Wizard creatures sure were interesting.

A noise interrupted their moment as the Ark opened, and voices filtered into the quiet. The dog yelped and ran off before Masa could say a word to it, and four silhouettes lined the white light of the Ark.

"It's Allen! A-L-L-E-N!"

"Sure it is, Moyashi-chan!" the familiar voice of Lavi replied, stepping out behind the young General. Following them was Kanda and Lenalee. They touched the ground and were met with Masa's bent form, hand extended out to nothing.

"..Sooo. What'cha doin', Masa?" Lavi asked, amusement flickering in his eyes. Masa's eye twitched as he straightened himself, dusting off any dirt on his knees.

"Playing with a dog," he answered casually, walking back towards the road they had come from, "your loud voice scared it away." Lavi pursed his lips, wanting to say something but Masa was ignoring him as he walked off. The four more experienced exorcists followed behind him, none willing to trust Allen to take the lead.

They found the road relatively quickly, and claimed the last carriage as their own just before it was about to take off. None commented on the odd, bony winged creatures that pulled the carriages, passing it off as another wizard thing. The night was quiet, and the ride went without a hitch. Before they knew it, they were approaching a large, awe-inspiring castle that had each exorcist gaping – Kanda far less openly – and speechless.

"It's so beautiful!" Lenalee finally said, breaking the silence. "It almost reminds me of home." The others agreed, though not out loud, and the carriage pulled to a stop outside. They all stepped out and into the crisp night air once more, surveying the gorgeous grounds around them; lush grass, thriving – yet ominous – forestry surrounding the perimeter, a large willow tree atop a hill, and a shining lake not far away. The boats of the first years were just rounding the corner, so the fivesome hurried into the castle.

They were met with the stern face of an older woman. Graying brown hair was tucked neatly beneath a deep, green hat, and robes that matched – this woman looked like one not to be messed with. Her eyes settled upon the exorcists, and she beckoned them forward.

"You are the transfers, I assume?" she questioned, though she obviously knew the answer.

"That's correct. My name is Allen Walker, and these are Lenalee Lee, Yuu Kanda, Lavi, and Masahiko Hara." She nodded her head curtly.

"My name is Minerva McGonagall. I am the Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts. If you would please wait here, the first years will be joining you in just a moment." The fivesome did as instructed, and stood quietly to themselves as they waited. Masa and Kanda stood perfectly still, the latter with a scowl present on his features—not that this was unusual. Allen shifted from foot to foot, allowing himself to favorite one side when the other got tired. Lavi was taking in their surroundings, and Lenalee was looking highly antsy as she bounced on the balls of her heels and looked around her.

Loud voices broke their awkward moment as they reverberated around the stone walls and met the well trained ears of the exorcists. Kanda "che'd", obviously not liking the idea that they would be surrounded by children. Not to mention none of them had any idea what "House" they were going to be in.

**~*~B-R-E-A-K~*~**

Kayton Oliesi glanced around herself nervously as she followed fellow first years into the large castle. Being a muggle-born, she had had no idea what to expect. However, this wasn't what she had anticipated at all. In fact, it was so much more. The castle broke the sky like a knife, cutting into the very clouds above. The interior was old, ancient even, and she had to pinch herself to remind her that she really was there. It was all too much like a dream.

People around her had already made friends, or already were with friends they knew before. Kayton was alone. She felt like no one would like her, and she would be forced to spend the next seven years in solitude.

Her lonely thoughts were disrupted when the group finally made it up the first set of stairs inside and guided into a hallway. Before her, five teens and an older woman stood waiting. Four of the teens were boys; the shortest two wore hoods over their heads, so she couldn't make them out, but the taller two were both in plain sight—and what a sight they were. One had dark hair that was longer than even hers was, and a scowl decorated his pretty face. The other had vibrant red hair unlike she had ever seen, with a green bandana that held his bangs away from his face, and an eye-patch covering one eye. The last person was a girl. She had shoulder-length green-black hair and envious long legs that were shown off by a short skirt.

Kayton couldn't help but be completely awed by them. And then the woman spoke. She told them of what was to come and how they would be sorted, and Kayton couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief. She had been so worried about the sorting that she almost didn't even get off the train. Some of the other first years had been saying such terrible things about it, and the older students only made it worse. Thankfully, those were but cruel rumors made to scare first years.

The woman, Minerva McGonagall she had introduced herself as, led them further down the hallway and to large, decorative double doors. She pushed them open with an ease that Kayton didn't expect—they looked so heavy!—and she was met with the most amazing sight.

"Such a beautiful room!" she heard the older girl in front of her say as the fivesome stared in awe along with the rest of the first years at the room—and especially at its ceiling.

"D'you think they'll have enough food?" one of the hooded boys asked. He had such a soft voice, and his question nearly made Kayton laugh.

"Perhaps not for you," the other hooded boy answered shortly. If she thought the first boy's voice was timid and quiet sounding, then this boy was even worse—and neither of the two had bothered to even turn their heads in Kayton's direction yet, so she couldn't even get a glimpse at them. However, she wondered if they could really be first years at all, especially the two taller boys. They looked to be seventh years, in her opinion.

When the group reached the front of the room, Kayton's nerves returned. Professor McGonagall, who had led them the entire way, placed an old ratty hat upon a stool, and she was ready to question it when a seam ripped loudly on the hat and began to move, acting as a mouth and letting forth a song. Kayton watched the strange teens some more, as their actions at that moment were quite interesting.

The red head looked excited, and hummed along with the hat's odd song. The girl looked like she was trying to ask him something, but to no avail, as he was ignoring her. The taller hooded one was whispering something to the shorter one, but she couldn't hear over the hat what it was they were saying. The scowly pony-tailed one was… ignoring all of them and scowling.

When the thing finished singing, Kayton began seriously thinking about what house she could be placed in. She couldn't apply any of those traits to herself very easily, and she wondered how a hat was going to be able to manage it.

It took a while of standing around, but finally her name was called, just after a boy who had been placed in Hufflepuff. She stumbled up to the stool nervously, sitting down and waiting for the ragged thing to be placed on her head and call out her house. Everyone was staring at her—it was the most nerve-wracking moment of her life, and then…

"RAVENCLAW!" it finally called out. She sighed in relief as it was now finally all over. The clapping table of blue and bronze beckoned her, and she ran to them happily.

Several more people were called before the only ones left were the five strangely dressed ones. She looked back at Dumbledore, who only nodded slowly at her in some odd speechless communication. She turned back to the curious student body before her and began speaking.

"This year, Hogwarts will be hosting five transfer students from another school, who wish to broaden their horizons and have graced us with their presence. They will be sorted into houses, joining their respective years, so please treat them with respect and welcome them any other," she said. Whispers broke out, but were quelled as she called out the first name.

"Kanda, Yuu."

* * *

><p><em>This is your final chance to vote on the poll. It will close <em>most likely _in the next week, depending on whether or not I can/will update before/after then. I have a busy next two weeks, what with finals and such. _

_Review to let me know that you're really there and you really care~ and __**vote**__!_


	5. Chapter Four

**Chapter four. **

**Notes: **_I intended to write this chapter a LONG time ago, you must believe me, but SOMUCHHASHAPPENED. I could say that I had to take all my finals, move all my stuff out and back home, had my birthday pass, found out I passed all my finals!, planned a trip to Alabama to visit my brother only for my grandmother to decide life wasn't worth living a week prior and having to make a side trip to Mississippi where my uncle went psycho and then we escaped with ridiculously small trinkets to remember her by and THEN finally went to Alabama for another week where I spent my time TRYING to relax after that whole mess but instead hid from my very hyper (adorable, smart, lovely) niece most of the time, and then coming home, BUT I won't say all that-…wait I did. Oh well. Now you know and hopefully won't hold it against me XD_

_Read on my friends… no shout outs this week because I'm too lazy to look up the names (even though I think there was only like… three of you). BUT YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE AND I LOVE YOU ALL FOR REVIEWING. _

**Give me recipes for happy  
>With the chemicals gone<br>Drinking freedom from a bottle  
>To the tune of belong<strong>

-Blue October, _X Amount of Words_

It became oddly quiet as the lanky teenage boy walked gracefully up to the Sorting Hat and placed himself upon the stool. His features were soft and angular like a woman, but the scowl that seemed almost a permanent part of his face told otherwise. A whisper from one of the Weasley twins—"any bets on Slytherin?"—had many students within earshot giggling, but they were quickly silenced by that threatening glower. Oh, if looks could kill…

Well, Allen would be dead already. The white haired boy stifled his own chuckles as the tattered hat was placed upon his comrade's head, obscuring the long haired exorcist's view of the room. For just a moment, all was completely quiet, and just as he began to think about how stupid this whole thing was, a voice broke through his thoughts.

"_An Exorcist… how odd. I don't think I've ever had the pleasure of sorting one of your Order before. This shall prove to be exceedingly difficult." _Kanda nearly tore the old hat off and sliced it in half with Mugen, but the thing continued. "_There's no need for such action! I am only here for the purpose of sorting you. Anything I see within your mind will never be recited to another being. I only need to access your memories for just a few moments." _

He didn't want to consent to the hat's request, but neither did he want to sit in that stool forever, or chance completely ruining the mission. And so, he relented and felt the odd sensation of his mind being probed by… an article of clothing.

After a few more moments, the hat began muttering in his mind. _"Difficult indeed. As an exorcist, you have plenty of bravery in you—you face great evil on a day to day basis. Your heart, however, lacks passion. You are cunning, but perhaps not quite fit for the Slytherin House. You have an odd sort of loyalty to your companions, and an unexplainable loyalty to your Order, but neither qualifies you for Hufflepuff. You are intelligent, that much is certain, but you are far from the academic qualities that Ravenclaw so admire. Therefore, I think you are definitely best suited for…_

"GRYFFINDOR!" the hat yelled enthusiastically. The once quiet student body was replaced by the thunderous applause—despite the glare still in place on Kanda's face—from the table decorated by red and gold. He ignored their congratulations and sat himself at the table, as far from anyone as he could, and near enough to one Harry Potter as he could without actually having to sit in front of the boy.

The applause was short, and the next exorcist was called forth.

"Lee, Lenalee." The young, short haired girl then approached the stool. Now that she was in front of the entire school, many could tell that she was of obvious Chinese descent. Her beauty was subtle, edging more on the soft, gentle look, yet even Harry Potter himself could admit that she had something that even Cho Chang did not.

She tucked her skirt beneath her as she placed herself on the stool with even more grace than Kanda had, and the sorting hat was placed upon her head.

"_Another exorcist, how exciting! I do enjoy a challenge. Let's see. You are resourceful, have a kindness so very unexpected of your field, and your friendships… I see. I have the perfect house for you, and it had better be…"_

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

And once again, the appropriate table cheered. Lenalee hopped off the stool and happily made her way to her home for the next year. She inwardly hoped at least one of her comrades would join her, but as she sat between two students at the Hufflepuff table, she knew she wouldn't have any troubles making friends regardless.

"Ah… Bookman Jr.? Lavi." It was indeed odd that Minerva McGonagall stumbled on a student's name, but since Lavi technically had no name, she struggled with what to call him. She recalled her conversation with Dumbledore as she spoke, and became more confident. Said junior Bookman made his way to the stool. Mischievous grin automatically had the Weasley twins perking up, and what with his wild red hair, he was in the running for becoming the third twin. Meanwhile, the rest of the student body prayed otherwise—what chaos could Weasley _triplets_ come up with?

The hat was placed upon his head, and as soon as the voice filtered through his mind, his Bookman training was already at work. He busied himself with trying to figure out the strange hat's workings while listening to every word it said, making sure to note it for him to write down later.

"_A sharp mind, no doubt. I've had the pleasure of sorting a couple Bookmen in my time, but you are slightly different, I see." _Lavi didn't know whether to take this as a compliment or not… and he was torn between asking about the Bookmen before him, and asking what he meant by different, however, he didn't even need to ask for the hat was speaking once again. "_You are stuck between the love you have for your friends, and the duty you have as a Bookman. Bookmen cannot grow attached, for they simply record, and nothing more. You, however, have become quite involved in the Order's war. You don't want to abandon your friends. You are very loyal, but I think you are best suited for…" _

"RAVENCLAW!" Lavi left the chair slightly confused. The hat was indeed correct, however for the moment he merely made his way to the table that cheered for him. (Kayton Oliesi nearly collapsed as he passed by and glanced in her direction. He wasn't too interested in little girls, however, and she was soon thrown out the window when he spotted a group of 7th year girls and sat in the middle of them with almost literal hearts in his eyes.)

The next name to be called was Allen Walker. The entire time, he had been fiddling with his gold-trimmed coat, not wanting to have his turn. All of his comrades had so far been separated, and there was still one house left, leaving a chance for him to not be in a house with any of them. Masa pushed him forward, and he stumbled up to the stool nervously. The Noah in him would have been ashamed, but Neah was quiet at the moment, and so he pulled his hood higher and sat upon the stool. Professor McGonagall wished to scold him, tell him to take the hood off, but restrained herself, being aware that he had his reasons to hide himself. Though soon enough he would have to take it off anyways.

Mumbles broke out. This one wasn't taking off his hood for the Sorting? It was an odd occurrence, made even more so as the hat was placed awkwardly over his head. Despite the offending cloth, the hat was able to delve into the boy's mind, but he didn't stay there long.

It was a mess. Memories of Neah and Allen jumbled all together, and the former presence was most certainly not happy with the intrusion. The hat caught glimpses of many things he'd never seen in his life before, and as soon as he felt he had what he needed, he jumped out and quickly yelled—

"SLYTHERIN!" Allen frowned. He wasn't quite sure what had just happened, it was all so confusing, but he made his way quickly to the last remaining table. He silently hoped that at least his apprentice would be able to claim the same House as his. He didn't doubt that any of the others would be able to take care of him… but this was _his _apprentice. _He _was the one put in charge of the newest exorcist, and so far, he hadn't done a very good job.

Allen never felt like a leader, and becoming a General was intimidating enough for him—but to have an apprentice was something entirely different. He couldn't help but think of all the other Generals and how they worked so differently from himself. They all had established their own ways, and Allen was still trying to fit in.

But he had been the one to find Masa. It was only fair that the boy be given to him for training. Not only that, but there was something about him, something that both he and Neah felt that was odd… a connection neither understood.

"Hara, Masahiko," McGonagall called after Allen had placed himself at the table of green snakes. Allen swore that he was more nervous about Masa's sorting than Masa was. He waltzed up to the stool impassively, and sat upon it with that same bored expression. He looked over to Allen, people were still whispering about him and almost everyone was staring at him oddly at his new table, and something seemed to register in his mind. He flipped the hood off his head and whispers began anew, effectively taking the attention off of his General and onto himself, as he had planned. The action surprised Allen, but Masa remained unaffected as the hat was placed over his eyes.

Allen wondered deeply what kind of memories the hat got to see—he still knew next to nothing about his own apprentice—as shown by his previous display. The only thing he knew was that Masa was afraid of…them? And that he found the boy outside a small town in Italy. He wasn't sure if Masa was even _from _Italy—he did have a very small accent but he couldn't distinguish where it sounded like it was from and it didn't affect his speech in the slightest. For all he knew, Masa could have been born in Africa.

And while Allen had this small crisis, Masa himself was dealing with the Sorting Hat.

"_And so a fifth exorcist to sort. You are the last one, correct? Yes, well let me see here… you—you're-!"_

"_**Desist. That is no longer me. I left them. And I wish to be sorted in Slytherin with my General." **_

"_W-well I suppose if you've already decided I have no choice but to place you in…"  
><em>

"SLYTHERIN!" the hat bellowed out. Allen celebrated in his mind as the rest of the table clapped for yet another new comrade. Masa, however, stood and walked calmly just as he had before to Allen's side.

"How lucky!" he whispered with a smile to his apprentice, earning an eyebrow raise in return.

"Not so much. I told the hat to place me with you," he said with a snort before turning to the stage again as the Headmaster stood to speak.

"..I didn't know you could do that," Allen muttered. If he had, he could have been in the same house as— "Oh well." No need to keep dwelling on _that _thought, laughing it off. And whether or not he actually was dwelling on the thought or not (and who exactly he had been thinking about in the first place) became irrelevant as the aged Headmaster cleared his throat.

"Welcome!" he started, having garnered the students' undivided attention. He welcomed them then once more, and continued on to say that he had something very serious to tell them of…

"Those creepy things that boarded the train are going to be _guarding _the school? I find it hard to believe they can guard anything! And what kind of 'Ministry business' anyways?" Allen complained, obviously not quite over the train incident. Masa rubbed the bridge of his nose.

"A-allen," he stuttered over the almost foreign name, but never got to finish as a blonde haired boy interrupted.

"You don't know? How could you possibly not know about Sirius Black escaping from Azkaban? I bet he's after Potter, otherwise they wouldn't bother posting Dementors all over the place." His voice held something of a bit of malice and maybe some contempt for Potter that did not go unnoticed by the exorcists. Allen also didn't miss the vague familiarity he had of the blonde boy. Perhaps on the train at some point…?

Neither answered as the Headmaster continued, mentioning that no one was to leave grounds without permission. This immediately concerned Allen, hoping that this did not apply to the exorcists—if there was an akuma nearby, they weren't going to have time to get _permission _to go outside and destroy it. And even that very night, Allen needed to take Lenalee, Kanda, and Lavi to Diagon Alley to get their wands. That required going back to the forest to the location of the door. He had strategically bought all their stuff for them so that they would have plenty of time to get wands…

"On a happier note, I am pleased to welcome three new teachers to our ranks this year. First, Professor Lupin, who has kindly consented to fill the post of Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher." The reception was rather dull, not many felt the need to clap for him except the group that had been with the two exorcists on the train. After that, he went on to say that some Kettlescorch-or-other had retired and a "Rubeus Hagrid" was taking the position in addition to "gamekeeping duties." The blonde boy sent some scathing remark to a scary looking girl and two large boys around him that Allen completely ignored. However, the biting book assigned for the man's class was a little… much. He tried to keep an open mind, nonetheless.

"We also have one last addition, however, it seems he has been delayed until tomorrow. He will be filling in for Professor Burbage* in muggle studies this year. His introduction will therefore have to wait until then!" he clapped his hands together then. "I believe that is everything of importance, then. Let the feast begin!"

And moments after he said that, immediately following the loud rumblings of a certain General's stomach, an immeasurable amount of food appeared on the plates in front of them. It was for this reason that each exorcist in the room immediately turned to find Allen Walker amongst the sea of green. And there he was…

…Mouth agape and eyes wide as saucers. This was going to be a great year for him.

* * *

><p><em>Results are in and this is how the housing is situated! Hope none of you mind too much if this wasn't what you wanted or voted for. <em>

_Three guesses as to whom Allen was thinking about hehe~ oh wait… there are really only three choices anyways. _

_* As far as I am aware, everything I've read online says that Professor Burbage probably started around the third year… but I decided to give her the post beforehand so that I would have someone to get rid of, heh heh_

_Also, teacher. Yeah. Bet you could easily guess who that is going to be, also. _

_On that note, I have ESTABLISHED this as a Yullen. If you do not like that, I apologize, but that was popular demand and you're SOL if you didn't review and tell me what you wanted (:_

_Lavi is still open for discussion as far as pairings go…but I can tell you right now I will NOT do Lucky. I'm sorry if you like Lucky, and I have nothing against it, I just can't write it! I can not physically write it. I don't know how, and I don't want to try. They just don't mesh for me. _

_Masa is also still open for discussion, as well as Lenalee. _

_HP is looking canon so far, no one has really said anything about them yet. Lemme know if you wish differently_

_PLEASE CONSIDER ALL OF THE ABOVE WHEN YOU REVIEW. Because I know you will review. (And I honestly only ask because I do want answers to those things, and not just being a pest about not getting enough. I couldn't care less how many reviews I get XD)_

_Until next time, chiiiildren! (Yes.. I have been playing Fallout 3 lately.)_


	6. Chapter Five

**Chapter Five. **

_Notes: Just a quick little thing to __**Ranger Mitsuki**__, I realized belatedly that my reply might have sounded mean. I DIDN'T MEAN IT TO. It's so hard to convey things on the internet sometimes D: I just wanted to apologize to you if you read it that way. I hate sounding mean to people! And I especially wouldn't want to be mean to my readers!_

We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools.  
><strong>Martin Luther King, Jr.<strong>

Had a black hole just dropped from the enchanted ceiling into their midst? Perhaps a hog had found its way inside the hall, or someone had made one hundred copies of Ron Weasley and placed them at the Slytherin table as a prank. No, it wasn't any of those things, though if they hadn't seen for themselves, they might think that one of those things had happened. No, what they were seeing was just one person, and that one person's name was Allen Walker.

The world's most food consuming creature was one single parasitic General class exorcist, and even though he was in the company of hundreds of other people, he immediately vacuumed all nearby plates into his mouth with a surprising amount of speed and grace. Not even Masa, a fellow parasitic type, could get that much food into his stomach. Allen Walker was on a level of his own, apart from any living creature, exorcist or animal.

Students spent half their meal watching the hooded transfer as he ate in morbid curiosity, nearly forgetting their own completely. Nobody expected that he would have any room for dessert, and yet as the main course changed into the endless assortment of sweets, he continued without missing a beat.

"You're attracting quite a bit of attention, Walker—"

"Allen!" he interrupted before shoving a piece of cake into his mouth.

"Fine! Allen, you should slow down just a bit. The others won't have anything left to eat if you continue at this rate," Masa reasoned. Allen stopped completely and stared at the people around him… or well, sort of around him. Most had scooted away as far as they could, staring at or ignoring completely the monster before them.

"Sohwy," Allen said through his mouthful, swallowing and giving a sheepish look to his neighbors. Shortly afterwards, the tables cleared and the Headmaster rose again to dismiss them. Allen was looking sadly at the empty plates, but Masa had seen him stuff a few things in his uniform before they had gone, almost as if the boy had known they would vanish just then. He wouldn't be surprised if the small General _had _known, if there was one thing he knew it was food.

The rest of the table was already standing to leave, and Masa decided to follow them. Turning to his superior, he said, "I'm sure you can fair on your own getting everyone their things. When I find out where we're staying, I'll come back to wait for you." It was best if they weren't stumbling around looking for their rooms until morning. He knew Lavi would have no problem finding his—and even if he didn't he would have a ball exploring the castle. Lenalee wouldn't be too proud to ask for help and Kanda? …Well Kanda might be the only problem, but that wasn't any of Masa's concern.

"Okay, see you later then," Allen responded cheerfully, rounding up the other three exorcists and leading them in the direction of the kind looking Headmaster to inform him of their goings-on.

It wasn't moments after that that they were leaving the Great Hall, branching off quietly from the mass of students out the front door.

Allen could feel them almost immediately, and he almost ran all the way to the forest.

Lavi would later tell him he actually _did _run, and the only reason he didn't seem to know is that the other three had no problems keeping up and Allen seemed to be focused on the dementors that seemed to be following them. Allen however, didn't want to fall apart again. The last thing he needed was to give Kanda ammunition against him.

As they were safely entering the Arc, Masa was in the dungeons. His face was the usual impassive, but on the inside he was slightly irritated. Of all the places they had to end up, it _would _be underground in the ridiculously chilly dungeons. He wanted to blame Allen for this, but it was his own decision to join the house of snakes in order to remain by his side. _Stupid decision. Should have went with the lions. _

Even so, Masa didn't regret it really. This way, Allen wouldn't get lost.

"Customers, so late at night? Oh! You're back! 11" birch, phoenix tail feather core," the old man Ollivander recited proudly. Allen gave him an odd look, but didn't say anything about it.

"Ah, yes. My friends need wands as well," he said, stepping aside for Ollivander to inspect the other three.

"Right, right. Well one of you step forward so I can start measuring and we'll have you all fitted in no time."

But in reality, "no time" ended up being hours. Lenalee was rather patient, though every time one of the wands reacted badly, she looked rather devastated. Like Allen had before her, she apologized profusely whenever something broke or was thrown in disarray, but Ollivander waved her off like it was nothing. After quite a while, she found herself holding a 13 ½" ash wood wand with a unicorn tail hair core. Mere seconds after the rather long wand had been placed in her grip, violet sparks shot out of the end. Lavi looked like he wanted to make a smart comment—one no one was sure to appreciate, as his eyes glittered with mischief—but Allen knocked him in the stomach with his elbow.

Lenalee stepped back and Lavi instantly stepped forward. "I wonder how wands work. Do they channel the magic of the one using it? Do they create their own magic? Is it a combination of both? How do they work for us? Does it have something to do with the innoce–"

"Baka Usagi! Just shut up and find your damn stick!" Lenalee and Allen cringed a bit, but were rather grateful of Kanda's intervention. When Lavi got going, he never seemed to quit. After that, things went rather smoothly. Lavi did ask a stray question here or there, but he didn't bombard the poor man and in the end, he had himself a 12" Hazel wood wand with a Dragon Heartstring core. He smiled victoriously at the red sparks that flew out of his wand and stepped back.

Kanda. Last but not least, the samurai stepped forward, eyes narrowed at the flying tape measure but not stopping it from its duty. As it begin measuring a slight bit lower, he nearly sliced it in half with Mugen, but the thing seemed to know as it flew away into the corner and began to quiver. He merely che'd, but Allen knew he was feeling a bit smug.

Kanda looked like he wanted to murder the old man. Wand after wand rejected him, like his comrades before him, but it was already getting late, he was tired, and it was ten times more annoying to have sticks placed and taken from your hand before you can do anything when it was you and not someone else.

"That's the one! I knew this would be the one for you!" Ollivander said at last.

"If you knew, why didn't you give it to me in the first place," Kanda replied grumpily, brandishing the 12 ½" hawthorn wand with dragon heartstring core as it shot out deep blue fireworks. He stowed the thing inside his coat and placed his hand back on Mugen, as if trying to return to what was comfortable to him. A silly stick could not ever replace his faithful sword. His innocence had chosen him first. It had seniority.

Meanwhile, Masa had long since been outside the Arc, waiting for the return of his comrades. The door had been left open, most likely in case the smaller boy wanted to join them, however he did not really like the man Ollivander, and so he instead found himself lying in the grass outside of the bright diamonds. He could feel the eerie cold of the dementors, but they seemed to be leaving him alone for the time being.

He didn't care either way. If they approached him, he would just kill them. That's what he was best at. At some point in his waiting—hours seemed to be going by as he stared blankly at the dark trees that towered above him—the dog from before had joined him. It kept giving him odd looks…odd _human_ looks, as if to ask if he were crazy for lying out in the Forbidden Forest at night. Maybe he was, but he hadn't seen any dangerous creatures, and the only ones he felt nearby were the ever present ghoulish fiends that made his General so defenseless on the train.

He couldn't help but wonder about that. He hadn't had the time yet to ask Allen what had happened. Indeed, he had felt the overwhelming disparity that the weird creature brought about, but it had not impaired him. Allen, however, nearly collapsed. He must have felt something terrible, for he knew that Allen was much stronger than himself, and many of the other exorcists.

The dog nudged his face with a cold, wet nose. Why wasn't he moving? He wasn't dead, but he was staring up at the unseen sky with a lost look in his eyes. The dog looked up, too. There was nothing there, though. Not even a stray owl graced a single tree branch. The night was empty, quieter than normal. The dog didn't like it.

He growled at the boy's side, and finally his attention shifted to his companion.

"You seem to be a rather mysterious creature. You aren't someone's pet, are you?" he asked the dog. He received a bark in response, and the dog shook its head. Masa began to wonder if he wasn't crazy. The dog had run away when the others came back, so they never saw him. Perhaps his mind was playing tricks on him? A human-like dog didn't seem normal to him, even in this abnormal world of wizards.

Whatever. He didn't really care so much, he decided as he rubbed the dog's ears. It may have been a little mangy, but that didn't matter so much to him.

His eyes flashed several times. Red, brown, red, brown, red, brown. The dog looked on in confusion as Masa looked up at the trees again. Dementors were passing overhead, and he distinctly thought he saw the dog shiver, but they didn't stop. He thanked whatever God looked over them, for he was honestly too tired to deal with Akuma—even if these ugly creatures weren't really Akuma, they were close enough to be similarly classified.

The Arc door began to open again, and he heard the voices of his fellows once more. The dog, once again, ran off in another direction before he could be seen. Lavi was the first to speak once they exited the structure.

"I bet my wand is bigger than yours, Masa!" he said, waving the stick in his face. An eyeroll later and a scolding from Lenalee, Lavi began talking cheerily to Masa about things he didn't care about as they made their way back to the castle.

It was going to be a long year. And he already had a bad feeling about tomorrow morning.

**~*~B-R-E-A-K~*~**

And so it proved to be. Masa woke with a yawn the next morning in the Slytherin 3rd year rooms. He glanced over at the bed nearest his, and noted that Allen was still asleep. In fact, most of the room was still asleep. The one other person awake in the room was a thin brown haired boy, one Masa was unfamiliar with—which truly wasn't a surprising thing, Masa only knew the snooty blonde's name was Draco Malfoy…and that was because he wanted to remember to avoid him. The unidentified male was sitting, fully dressed for the day, on his own bed nearest the far wall. He didn't seem to be aware, as he continued to stare blankly at the stone before him.

Masa stood to get dressed as well, and even his sudden movements did not stir the other boy from whatever he was doing. After he finished dressing, he went about waking up Allen. This was easier said than done.

"What to you waaaaant?" came the whining response as Masa shook his General's shoulder.

"Breakfast," he said simply, and it didn't take much more than that single word to get Allen up and out of bed. Masa stowed away this knowledge for later, it could come in handy for waking Allen in the future. For now, he waited patiently as the other got dressed. It wasn't until he and Allen were about to leave that Masa noticed that the un-named boy from before had already left. How hadn't he noticed?

Oh well. It didn't bother him much as he led the way down to the Great Hall. The enticing smells of bacon, eggs, and various other breakfast foods wafted into the hallway, and Allen was immediately rushing his way to the table.

They were early, he noted, but he didn't really care to scold Masa at the moment for making him wake up so much earlier than needed as he was already digging into every plate he could get his hands on. Masa briefly felt that the other Slytherins would regret not coming early as well, as he watched the white haired boy scarf down his food.

Masa adjusted his school robes, letting them hang uselessly off his shoulders. He had almost tossed the tie in the trash. He didn't really like formal wear all that much. Allen, however, fit the uniform type perfectly. The green colors of their house looked quite natural on him, and everything else wasn't that much of a stretch from the clothes he usually wore other than the exorcist uniform.

He picked up a few things hurriedly before Allen could take everything within arms reach, and ate them slowly as he scanned the Hall. Quite a few Ravenclaws were already sitting at their table, books in hand as they studied for classes that hadn't even been handed out yet. Lavi was there as well, trying to chat up a seventh year girl who looked none-too-pleased that he was distracting her from her book. One table over, Lenalee was smiling to another girl at the Hufflepuff table. She gave Masa a wave when she noticed his gaze was on her, and he quickly moved on to the Gryffindors. Kanda was, not surprisingly, up as well. He was the kind of person to get up and meditate early before people disturbed him. Masa wouldn't be surprised if that was what he had done. He currently was ignoring the girl next to him that seemed intent on getting his attention. Poor thing.

People filtered in slowly, but steadily, and soon, almost everyone was sitting around and eating before their first day back at Hogwarts. Allen didn't seem to be aware at all the stares he was getting now that he was hoodless. Whispers of "who's that?" and "was he one of the transfers?" passed over his head completely. The gossipers themselves got their answers just by looking at the way he ate. He was _definitely _the same boy as yesterday. Once again he took it upon himself to slow the boy down. He needed to find out where the kitchens were soon; this could be the death of his sanity if he didn't.

Schedules were soon passed out, and Masa and Allen found themselves looking down at their identical papers.

"Double potions with the Gryffindors again this year. How fantastic," Draco Malfoy said, sarcasm dripping like poison from his lips.

"What's so bad about that?" Allen wondered aloud, catching the blonde's attention.

"They're all filthy, self-righteous blood-traitors over there. If I were you, I would steer clear of them. They might rub off," he said, turning his nose up as if to say 'duh' at such a stupid question. Allen turned to his apprentice and shrugged. He thought the three from the train were nice enough (excluding the incident when the extra two joined them and they became exorcist sandwiches) and Kanda…well they didn't need to worry so much about him. He probably wouldn't want to associate with Allen anyways.

"Well either way, we need to go in for testing or something. To assess our knowledge? …I just hope all that studying we did after we got our books will help," Allen said with a sigh, "That and all the endless hours Komui spent drilling information into our brains. I swear if I ever hear him tell me I'm saying a spell wrong again, I will go mad." Masa cringed in remembrance of those weeks they had to spend studying. They had been given only three to cram as much as they could. Talk about a last minute mission.

Masa excelled at Potions, as he had found out when they were studying with the science department. He spent a lot of time with Reever or Johnny, and avoided Komui as much as he possibly could. Allen, however, wasn't as lucky. Komui stuck to him and Lenalee like glue.

Unfortunately, they couldn't get as much as they would have liked done. They couldn't cast a single spell and could only learn the incantations and movements needed. Allen seemed most interested in Transfiguration and Care of Magical Creatures, but couldn't be sure he would be any good at either since he hadn't gotten any practice with it yet.

Soon they found themselves sitting with Lavi, Lenalee, and Kanda in a testing room with Professor McGonagall. She didn't seem too bothered to be there, and soon, the testing began. Well into the morning the went, until finally, they wandered out into the hallway. Morning classes weren't completely over yet as they waited in the empty hall for McGonagall to give them their updated schedule.

Classes had been added, and numbers accompanied them. Allen decided to ask about it.

"The numbers are the year that you will be studying with," she clarified. With a sigh of relief, he looked over at Masa's paper to make sure they were the same—and they were. They had both managed to test into the average 3rd year classes, as they had intended. Lenalee looked happy as well, and explained that the only class she had with them would be History of Magic. It was hard to remember an entirely new History on top of the two you were already juggling—the normal one, and the one that only the exorcists seemed to know. Lenalee's other classes were all fourth year, as that was the year she was posing as.

Lavi, not surprisingly, was in entirely 6th year classes. Allen had a feeling he'd probably done a lot better than year 6, but as he that was the year that Komui had decided for him, he would have to deal with it. Kanda on the other hand, looked miffed. He as well was supposed to be in entirely 6th year classes, but as Masa looked over his shoulder, he realized that this was not the case.

"He's in our year's Care of Magical Creatures and Defense Against the Dark Arts," the smallest boy said blandly, as if he wasn't just revealing something that could potentially get him killed. Allen had to cover his mouth with a hand at the look Kanda was giving his apprentice, and Lavi outright _giggled _at this turn of events.

Allen almost wished he hadn't held his tongue as they weaved their way through throngs of people towards the Muggle Studies room. The mysterious professor had never appeared at breakfast, and his name wasn't on the schedule. Even so, Allen's mind was still on Kanda, thinking of how the samurai had stalked off to his class without a word to the others. He was getting better at his tendency to threaten people with Mugen—probably a good thing since they were in a school filled with children.

The two Slytherins were almost the only snakes present in the classroom. One other, the nameless boy from this morning, was there as well. They took seats next him in the middle-right of the room, and didn't seem to notice as all the other houses seemed to give the three a wide berth.

"Hey Allen," Masa asked as they waited for their teacher. "Why did…that thing on the train happen?" Allen blinked at him, not lost on the meaning of this question. It was vague, most likely on purpose, but he got the feeling even if he hadn't been, the silent boy beside them wouldn't care.

"Ah…those things," he started, wondering how he could say it so that Masa could understand, "they look like the souls trapped inside Akuma. It's like they never had a vessel to begin with. I could…_feel _the pain inside those things. I don't know if its from the souls they ate, or their own, but it was horrible." Masa grimaced, and decided not to press the subject any further. Allen seemed content with this as the class finally seemed to be all there—except for their teacher.

A few minutes passed and people began to whisper. Where was he? Class was supposed to have started already and he still wasn't there. What if he didn't show up?

But this line of thought was quickly thrown out when the door opened with a loud _bang! _and in stepped their teacher. Allen thought he heard Masa garble out some mangled Japanese-meets-Italian sentence that probably would have made no sense even if he could fluently speak either of them. However, he was just as surprised at the man standing before him.

"Hello, brats. I'll be your Muggle Studies professor this year."

* * *

><p><em>So, this chapter isn't so great. I threw a LOT in there that I never intended to have, and so the quality is rather poor. It IS longer than usual, however, so there is that. Also, I didn't give the name of the teacher, but I think its obvious enough right? I had originally intended to make someone else the teacher, but then you guys were all like "I hope it's him!" …so I changed my mind. I DO IT ALL FOR YOU. Hahh.. <em>

_All that testing stuff.. I literally came up with it as I was writing it, if you couldn't tell. I realized a little belatedly that I would need to have them in classes that would be suitable to their needs and not just their ages (which I manipulated anyways, seeing as I put them all in years that didn't correspond with their ages XD)_

_And to end this long author's note.. I was thinking about getting a beta. If anyone's interested, drop me a line. I'm too lazy to edit things, I often forget what I've already written and end up completely inconsistent, and plenty of other things. _

_Anyways. Until next time!_


	7. Update

**Hey guys,**

**I know you'll probably hate me for doing this, but I've decided to completely rewrite this story. I don't like what I've done with it so far, in fact there's not too much I like about it at all. So for my sake, and for yours, I plan on fixing all the things that are wrong with it and then reposting. Of course, I will let you all know when this has / will be happening, so if you want to continue reading you won't have to keep checking back at my profile. **

**I really hope to see you all continue reading this again when I post it, and hopefully you'll be seeing me soon!**

**~Panda**


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